Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the greatest soccer players to play the game. The debate of who is better between Messi and Ronaldo is never-ending. The GOAT debate has continued for more than 15 years, but it still has not been settled yet. However, Pele, the Brazilian soccer legend gave his opinion on this debate years ago.
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Pele is one of the greatest soccer legends of all time. Pele passed away yesterday night. The 82-year-old had been sick for a long time, as he was suffering from colon cancer. The entire soccer fraternity was saddened by the news of Pele’s death. Many players, including Messi, Ronaldo, Haaland, and Neymar Jr offered their condolences to Pele’s family and paid tribute to him.
What did Pele say about Ronaldo and Messi?
Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi is a question that arises in the soccer fraternity over and over again. Many current and former soccer stars have given their answer to this question. While some choose the Argentine wizard, others choose the Portuguese talisman. However, Pele had his own unique take on this debate.
Pele was asked a few years back about his opinion on the Ronaldo versus Messi debate during an interview on the Brazilian channel Pilhado. The Brazilian legend answered that at that time, Ronaldo was performing better than Messi. However, he refused to rule out the Argentine star, saying, “but of course, you can’t forget about Messi.”
This is what Pele had to say on the Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo Debate
Messi =🐐🐐🐐 pic.twitter.com/hxNtQ6bqfc
— Emad🇦🇷🇦🇷 (@EmaddFcb10) June 3, 2022
Pele also did not forget about his Brazilian counterparts. He added, “[The best of all time] is a question that is difficult to answer. We cannot forget about Zico, Ronaldinho, and Ronaldo.” The three-times-World-Cup winner also talked highly about former Dutch international Johan Cruyff and legendary German defender Franz Beckenbauer.
Thanks for everything. 🤍🕊️ #Pele pic.twitter.com/EItF8tGNWN
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 29, 2022
However, he finally ended his answer by saying, “Now, it’s not my fault, but I think Pele was better than them all.” The Brazilian, albeit, did not mention his former arch-rival, Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory in 1986.
It is not completely unfair of Pele to claim that he was the best of all time. Pele holds the record for the player with the most FIFA World Cup wins after leading Brazil to World Cup glory in 1958, 1962, and 1970. He also holds the Guinness World Record for the most goals scored by an individual in the history of soccer, netting 1283 goals in just 1363 matches. Pele was also voted the World Player of the Century by IFFHS in 2000 and was also one of the two winners of the FIFA Player of the Century award.
